


I met a girl in Valentine

by MudkipBrony



Series: Persona Western AU [3]
Category: Persona 4, Persona Series
Genre: Alcohol, Bandits & Outlaws, Bar, Crushes, Daisuke ends up being the responsible friend, F/M, Five finger fillet, Kou is a boy with a crush, Kou is a dangerous drunk, No it's like the map of the physical landscape, Not Beta Read, Past, Personas are horses, Read Dead Redemption 2 Horses, Red Dead Redemption 2 Map, Underage Drinking
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-08
Updated: 2020-11-08
Packaged: 2021-03-08 19:15:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,099
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27201664
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MudkipBrony/pseuds/MudkipBrony
Summary: I met a girl in ValentineRobbed me of my hard-earned payBut I wait to see her againFor she stole my heart and then.
Relationships: Ichijo Kou/Satonaka Chie
Series: Persona Western AU [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1981138
Comments: 4
Kudos: 2





	I met a girl in Valentine

1890

Valentine was a small town. A ranching town. A ranching town with mud covering every building. Word spread around quickly in Valentine, rumors, news, lies, anything. Nothing happened in Valentine, besides the occasional robbery and maybe a murder (if you could even call it that). The only people who came to Valentine with a purpose were farmers and outlaws. Farmers because there was an auction house for farm animals that auctioned off the smallest chick to the biggest horse. Outlaws because of the bank, but even then, was it worth it?

So, most days Kou would help Daisuke at the auction house. Herding sheep or chasing goats because they keep getting out of their pens. Sometimes, though not often, he would be the one auctioning the animals off. Sometimes he got paid for it, most times he didn't. His grandmother didn't approve of him working at the auction house, then again, she didn't approve of most things he liked. Once when Kou was drunk he stole two of his families horses and he convinced a friend of his (not Daisuke, he was actually against all this) to ride them into town. The moment Kou got onto that horse he got thrown into the mud and broke his arm. He didn't feel it, he was drunk, but he wasn't allowed near the horses for a while after that. Now he would just kick a ball around with Daisuke when they had the time.

But that was in the past. Today was today. And after another long day of auctioning off animals Kou decided to head to the bar. But as he and Daisuke were walking down the dirt path Daisuke said, "He's just going to kick us out again."

"We're not going to that one." They past the big saloon on their walk down the dirt road. Kou tried to enter once, because there was also a barber who worked in the back. But the moment he opened the door the bartender kicked him out. He didn't know why. So they walked down the road, passing the saloon, the bank, the jail, and as they passed the gunsmith Kou made a right.

"Where are we going?"

Kou stopped at a small building off the side of the road. The was a trough and a place to hitch horses which was occupied by two horses. It was nice in its own disgusting way... if not for the guy violently vomiting into the troth. "You've never seen this place before?"

"I've seen it."

"Sure you did, come on." Kou took the lead passing the horses and going up the old creaky steps. Though he stopped and looked back at the horses hitched next to the trough, there was a grey and white American Paint, and a golden Turkoman. Although he'd never admit it, Kou was a bit into horses. His family had quite a few although he was never allowed to take care of them, so he studied them the best he could. He has never seen a Turkoman up close before especially not one with such a golden dusty color, American Paints were common, wild herds of them live not too far north, but he's never seen one with gray splotches before. "Have you ever seen-" Kou turned around but found that Daisuke already went inside.

When Kou rushed inside, he bumped into Daisuke's back. "What's with you and horses?"

"What's so weird about a rancher who knows his horses?"

The two walked up to the counter where an old man was cleaning a shot glass on the other side. He looks up at the two and says, "What can I get ya?"

The two bought some beer and sat down at a table with splotches of dried blood. "Are you sure we should be doing this?" Daisuke asked.

"It'll be fine. Just a few rounds, small bets. It'll be fun!" Kou reassured. He pulled out a small knife from his pocket, it was more of a work knife than a knife used in fights, but it worked for Five Finger Fillet. He stabbed it into the table while Daisuke just placed a similar knife on the table. 

Daisuke sipped his beer and picked up his knife. "I'll go first. Cheap Classic." Kou watched Daisuke place his hand on the old table and spread his fingers. Slowly he jabbed the knife in the spaces between his fingers. Cheap Classic was a version of Classic Five Finger Fillet. The only difference is they take out the time limit, but everything else is the same. The first person sets the number of laps and stops once they make five mistakes. Mistakes being stabbing your hand. They didn't bet a lot of money whenever they played Cheap Classic, only a few yen at most.

They played a few rounds, Kou playing fast while Daisuke played slow. They went through a few beers, the bartender not asking why these two teenagers were drinking so much beer and playing Five Finger Fillet. It was Daisuke's turn, he had to beat six rounds. He was careful with the knife, trying to stab himself for a fifth time, he was about to finish his sixth lap when-

"Hey barkeep!"

The door slammed open causing Daisuke to cut his finger. "OW! Shit!"

Kou turned to see whoever just came in. Two people walked up to the bar, both with short light brown hair. One wearing a green vest while the other had an orange long-sleeve shirt on and they were both were wearing chaps. "Two shots of whiskey!" The person in the green vest shouted.

The bartender looked like he was tired with their mere presence. "I already told you, I don't serve whiskey to teenagers. You can have a beer."

The green vest person looked at the orange man. He sighed and placed a bunch of coins on the counter. "Two beers please..."

"That's the spirit!"

Kou turned back around and pulled the small pile of coins in the middle of the table towards him. But Daisuke swatted his hand away, "That was foul play!"

"How was that foul play? You cut your hand five times!" Kou grabbed the coins again.

Daisuke seceded, "Fine, take your fifty yen!"

"You guys playing Guts?" It was the person in the green vest, or girl, now that Kou got a good look at her.

"Uh, 'Guts'?" Daisuke asked.

"Our word for Five Finger Fillet," said the orange shirt man, "Hey can we play?"

The best friends didn't even get to answer before the two pulled up chairs from nearby tables. So now there was a person on each of the four sides. The woman in green stabbed a sharp hunting knife into the table. The man in the orange pulled out a knife he hadn't seen before. The woman in green scoffed, "You're using your kunai for this?"

"And you're one to judge."

Kou and Daisuke glanced at each other before Daisuke picked up his dinky knife. "I'll go first, we're playing Classic?"

"Yeah, we'll use my watch." The orange man pulled out his pocket watch and watched as Daisuke began to gently stab the spaces between his fingers.

It was quiet, except the tics of the man's watch, the sip of beer, or the stabbing of knives. Until a horse's whinny rang loud through the small bar. The woman in green sighed, "Jiraiya is being annoying."

"He can wait, I'm busy." he said, tossing his kunai up in the air, catching it, and finishing his lap.

 _Showoff._ "That's not good, that means he wants your attention." Kou explained.

"Are you some sort of horse expert?" The showoff asked.

"Not really-"

"He is," Daisuke cut him off, "it's like his whole thing."

"Damn it! Fine, I'll check on him," the orange man stood up, gripping his hand after a fifth stab, "I don't see why he needs me. He's got Tomoe with him."

As he walked out Kou took a sip of his fifth beer and picked up his knife. "I'm Kou Ichijo," he said. He started his lap, he had to beat ten laps in twenty seconds to win the pot.

"Oh, we're doing that? I'm Daisuke Nagase."

"Chie Satonaka. And the guy with his horse is Yosuke Hanamura."

As if he was cued the three of them hears Yosuke yell, "WHAT DO YOU WANT? DUMB HORSE!"

"And he's yelling at his horse Jiraiya, the grey and white horse outside."

 _Shit that_ _hurt,_ Kou thought as he got cut with his knife. "That American Paint outside is his?"

"I'm not too good with horse breeds but yeah. Mine is the gold one," Chie said, fiddling with her knife on the table.

"THAT'S YOURS?" Kou slammed the knife into the table, completing eleven laps.

Chie picked up her knife and began her lap. "Yeah, she's a good horse."

Daisuke rolled his eyes, "Don't get him started with the horses."

* * *

When Kou walked into the bar it was midafternoon. By the time, the four of them walked out of the bar the sun was going out. Two of them were drunk, the third was very confused, and the fourth watching in amusement while also trying to make sure none of them get arrested. They've moved from the bar down towards the train station, there was more room out front to hitch horses and apparently Daisuke needed to retrieve a letter.

"She's beautiful!" Kou said a little too loudly. He wasn't talking about the girl he met in the bar, no he was talking about her horse.

Chie gave the drunken Kou a look. "Uh thanks?"

"I've seen Turkomans but not a gold one!" Kou started circling the horse, like an artist trying to get the best angle.

"She was a gift. A loud, loyal, gift." Chie said, rubbing her hand up and down the horse's neck.

"You must be lucky! Having a boyfriend buy you a horse." Just as Kou said that he heard Yosuke start laughing from a few meters away where his own horse was hitched.

The girl focused her attention onto her horse. "I don't have a..."

"Too bad." Kou finally stopped circling the horse like a drunken predator and stood next to Chie. "Hey, can I ride her? Like around the train station or something?"

"What? No!"

But Kou didn't listen. "It'll be quick!"

Just then Daisuke came out of the train station, a letter in his hand, and he knew what was about to happen. "You really shouldn't-"

"Alright, girl. Hold still." As Kou put his foot in the stirrup Tomoe reared back, throwing Kou into the mud.

Daisuke and Yosuke ran up to them. Yosuke (the only sober person here) got Kou to sit up while Daisuke tried (but mostly failed) to yell at Chie. "Why did you let him do that?"

"I tried to warn him!"

With the help of Yosuke, Kou was back on his feet. "I'm doing that again!"

"God no, stay away from my horse!" Chie said.

"I'm sorry, he always gets like this," Daisuke apologized.

"Relax, I know a few people who act the same way." Yosuke said as he was walking back to his own horse.

Chie mounted Tomoe with ease, making Kou wonder how she made it look that easy. She was about to ride off but sighed and pulled something out of one of the saddle bags on Tomoe and tossed it to Kou. Kou caught the thing; it was just a little pull string bag. "What's this?"

"I felt bad that you gambled all your money away. So that's like, 2,500 yen? Maybe more. Sorry Tomoe threw you off." Chie explained.

"No worries. Hey! You should come back sometime!" Kou said enthusiastically.

"Sure, why not? Just don't be a blackout drunk next time." Chie joked.

Before Kou could come up with a comeback Yosuke said, "Chie come on! If we don't leave now, we'll never hear the end of it!"

Chie rolled her eyes. "Well, I'll see you guys around. Come on Tomoe."

And just like that they were gone. Daisuke led Kou back into town, mumbling something about how mounting someone else's horse was a stupid idea and now he's all muddy. But Kou kept thinking about that gold Turkoman... and Chie. He never met a girl who was willing to play Five Finger Fillet, or who rode her own horse, or who put up with his drunken state. Drunkenly wandering down the mud path part of him wondered if he'd ever see Chie again. And that part of him hoped he was right.

**Author's Note:**

> Basketball wasn't invented until 1891 so I had to improvise. And soccer didn't become an actual sport with set in stone rules until the 1900s. So, I thought, "Ok so in this AU Kou lives in Valentine. His family is rich, what did rich people back then have a lot of that rich kids weren't allowed to have? HORSES!"


End file.
